Method and apparatus for port vector determination at egress

Abstract

An integrated multiport switch operating in a packet switched network provides the capability to alter VLAN tags on a port by port basis. An internal rules checker (IRC) employs a modular architecture that enables data frames to be processed simultaneously and increase data throughput. The IRC further generates a port vector, and thereby, outputs a forwarding descriptor that instructs Port Vector FIFO logic (PVF) on how to process the data frame.

Description

1. Technical FieldThe present invention relates to data communication networking devices, more particularly, to the data frame forwarding capability of a data network switch.2. Background ArtA multiport data network switch conventionally permits data communication among a plurality of media stations in a local area network. Each station in the network is associated with a port of the switch. Data frames, or packets, are transferred between stations by means of data network switch media access control (MAC) circuitry, or "engines," for each switch port. The network switch passes data frames received from a transmitting station to a destination station based on the header information in the received data frame. The switch can link the network to other networks through one or more predesignated switch ports. The capability thus exists for creating logical workgroups of users who may be physically separated from each other. The network switch includes switching logic for receiving and f...

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